Eat To The Beat is back for its 22nd year as one of Toronto’s must-attend culinary events and fundraisers. The charity event is hosted by the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), and will be held at the Roy Thomson Hall (60 Simcoe Street) on Tuesday, October 17 from 7 pm – 10 pm. Guests have the opportunity to enjoy both savoury and sweet dishes at 60 food stations and a wide selection of alcohol/non-alcoholic beverages from 20 drink stations.

Funds raised at Eat To The Beat will be directed towards supporting breast cancer programs and services of the Canadian Cancer Society. An estimated 25,000 Canadian women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. So, the funds will surely help and assist patient support.

EVENT DETAILS:

The event exclusively features 60 female chefs supporting women through the challenges that come with a breast cancer diagnosis. The line up of chefs is impressive and includes some of the following:

Sandra Abballe, Succulent Chocolates and Sweets
Suzanne Baby, Gallery Grill at Hart House
Suzanne Barr, Kid Chocolate
Manal Bashir, Victor Dries
Vanessa Baudanza, The Rolling Pin
Wanda Beaver, Wanda’s Pie in the Sky
Renee Bellefeuille, Art Gallery of Ontario
Cathy Beneway, Creative Catering by Cathy
Emma Beqaj, Emma’s Eatery Catering
Richell Castillo, Fabbrica
Arvinda Chauhan, Arvinda’
Preena Chauhan, Arvinda’
Tiiu Christie, Marigolds and Onions
Tysa Christie, Marigolds and Onions
Felicia Derose, Chase Fish & Oyster
Donna Dooher, Mildred’s Temple Kitchen
Stephanie Duong, Roselle
Rossy Earle, SupiCucu
Alexandra Feswick, The Drake Hotel
Elia Herrera, Los Colibris, El Caballito
Kimberly Humby, East & Main Bistro
Anna Janes, Cocomira Confections
Leyla Kizilirmak, Art Square Gallery and Café
Charlotte Langley, Groundwork Food and Scout Canning
Vanessa Le Page, The Cake Lady
Tara Lee, Eastbound Brewing Co.
Jacqueline Lo, Ruelo Patisserie
Isabelle Loiacono, The Rolling Pin
Lynn Mendelson, Lynn Mendelson Catering
Tiffany Miguel, George Restaurant
Joan Monfaredi, Park Hyatt Hotel
Jennifer Mooers, Hooked
Lauren Mozer, Elle Cuisine
Andrea Nicholson, Butchie’s and Killer Condiments
Anne Novo, The Gladstone Hotel
Leona Nyman, Azzurra
Catherine O’Donnell, Willow Cakes and Pastries
Christine Ostiguy, Yorkshire Pudding Catering
Angela Panigas, The Sultan’s Tent & Cafe Moroc
Chef Véronique Perez, Crepes a GoGo Spadina and Limonana
Jennifer Perusini, BerBer Social
Andrea Poirier, Inn on the Twenty
Karen Rachlin, Bite Catering
Nuit Regular, Pai Northern Thai Kitchen, Sabai Sabai, Sukhothai
Emily Richards, Professional Home Economist
Sophia Rouleau, Ace Bakery
Dufflet Rosenberg, Dufflet Pastries
Jeanne da Silva, George Brown College Chef School
Alida Solomon, Tutti Matti
Lili Sullivan, Pomodoro in the Country
Amy Symington, George Brown College Chef School
Meghan Van Horne, Public Schoolhouse
Elaine Wong, The Omni King Edward Hotel
Winlai Wong, The Badminton & Racquet Club of Toronto
Vanessa Yeung, Aphrodite Cooks

All of the chefs are donating their time and talent to the event, so please support this great cause. More information and buy tickets at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/eat-to-the-beat-presented-by-kitchenaid-tickets-35572292685.

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Taste Matters is a charity event hosted by Eva's Initiatives for Homeless Youth. The charitable organization is an award-winning organization that aims to help young people (16-24) who are homeless, living in shelters, “couch-surfing”, or housing insecure. Eva's also offers family and individual counseling to at-risk and homeless youth and their families. I think it's amazing that there is an outlet out there that works collaboratively with homeless and at-risk youth to help them reach their potential to lead productive.

Eva’s Taste Matters will be taking place on Thursday, November 2, 2017 at the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex from 6 pm. The event is a feast of delectable delights that brings together Toronto’s finest food and beverage. Proceeds go to safe shelter, nutritious food and 24-7 support for homeless youth at Eva’s.  Early bird tickets are currently on sale at https://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/communicate/eventtickets.action?auctionId=285405395. 

EVENT DETAILS:

Event: Eva's Taste Matters
Date: Thursday, November 2, 2017
Time: 6 pm to 9 pm
Location: Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex
Tickets: Buy here

 Eva’s Place opened their doors in 1994, and has since expanded from one to three shelters - Eva's Place, Eva’s Satellite and Eva’s Phoenix. All three shelters offer several different programs and services for homeless and at-risk youths. Since they started, they have helped approximately over 19,000 youth from the Greater Toronto Area and across Canada. It's a safe haven where youths are provided a supportive and safe environment as they try to better their lives.

The Mission: "The mission of Eva’s Initiatives is to work collaboratively with homeless and at-risk youth to help them reach their potential to lead productive, self-sufficient and healthy lives by providing safe shelter and a range of services, and to create long term solutions for homeless youth by developing and implementing proactive and progressive services." (source)

The grand-scale event will be held in The Liberty Grand in downtown Toronto. There will be over 20 food and beverage hosts, including a few tables featuring baked goods from the youth of Eva’s. Please support this great cause as all of the money raised from the event will go towards helping homeless youth receive critical job and life skills training and education, shelter, and housing for better futures.

Please enjoy all the photos from last year's Eva’s Taste Matters - Eva's Initiatives for Homeless Youth event below!

Last year's event had 466 attendees and over $174,000 was raised for the charity. It was record breaking!!

For $65, you will receive an all-inclusive pass giving you complete access to an afternoon of pure indulgence - no food tickets, and no drink tickets needed. The Toronto Catering Showcase has partnered up with several of Toronto's top caterers below:

10tation
Food Dudes
Drake Catering
 Encore Catering
 Treeline Catering 
Presidential Gourmet Catering
 en Ville Event Design and Catering
MaRo Catering  
Toben Food by Design
Kiss The Cook Catering 
 Daniel et Daniel Catering & Events
elle cuisine

Many of above caterers offer a variety of services including corporate events, weddings, and social events. I have been fortunate to attend events catered by some of these catering companies, and they have always crafted unique tasting experiences. I am looking forward to attending the upcoming Toronto Catering Showcase next month, and I hope to see you there.

The Food Dudes consistently raise the bar by anticipating and fulfilling the dynamic needs of the modern metropolitan client - a desire for fresh and local ingredients, sophisticated original fare, flexible budgeting plans - all while providing a memorable culinary experience. (source)

Photo Credit: Food Dudes

 "Our team of experts are the best in the industry and bring a wealth of culinary experience. Our hands-on approach to event planning and catering ensures clear communication with our clients and seamless day-to-day operations. We maintain close working relationships with our clients and offer support and direction to our on-site event teams. " (source)

Photo Credit: Daniel et Daniel

"Inspired by global cuisine, Toben Food By Design puts a twist on classic fine dining by bringing the best from the reaches of the world since 2005. Specializing fully customized menus to reflect the distinct requirements of each client, Toben Food By Design also prides themselves on the care and detail they instill into each of their events." (source)

Once again, hope to see you at this year's event and you can buy ticket(s) here at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/2017-toronto-catering-showcase-tickets-35739269116.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/torontocateringshow/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/torontocateringshow/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOCateringShow
Website: http://www.torontocateringshowcase.com/


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Disclaimer: This blog post was sponsored by EventSource

Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) opens today! Prior to their official opening date, I had the opportunity to attend CNE Media Preview Day where bloggers and media got a sneak peek at some of the creative concoctions from this year's The Toronto Star Food Building. We got to sample several innovative foods for 2017 at the CNE. The CNE opens Friday Aug, 18 and runs until Monday, Sept 4, 2017. For this year's Canadian National Exhibition, the food vendors have combined traditional carnival eats with trendy ingredients.

We started the morning off with some coffee and treats from Tim's Horton's.


Deep Fried Cheese Curds from the King of Curds



The Juicy Oink from Hot Bunzz Street Cuisine


Pickle Balls from Canadian Bacon Pickle 


Iced Caps from Tim Horton's



Pancake Bowls from Eat My Bowls


Last Samurai from Yatai


Dragon's Breath Crepe from Eative




Strawberry Shortsteak from Philthy Philly's


Stacked Philly Cheesesteak from Philthy Philly's


Vegan Poutine from Dutch Frites


Cricket Cone from Bug Bistro


 Takoyaki (Crispy Octopus Balls) from Japanese Karaage Cuisine


Campfire Smore's Cones from Chimney Stax


Fried Cheese Balls 


Spaghetti Donut Balls from Fritta



The Colossal Coliseum from San Francesco's Italian Sandwiches


Popcorn


All Canadian Red Hot Burger from Bacon Nation




Sugar Mountain from Cake Shack


The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) runs from Aug. 18 to Sept 4, and admission is $18. There is also a discounted rate of $6 if you go after 5 pm from Monday to Thursday. That is an amazing deal! Besides the food, there are tons of attractions this year like the Aerial Acrobatics & Ice Skating Show featuring Canadian figure skater Elvis Stojko, CNE Gaming Garage, Innovation Garage, and CNE Aquarama. 

Social Media

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letsgototheex/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/letsgototheex
Website: http://theex.com/

Disclaimer: The food provided in this post was complimentary. However, all of the opinions expressed in this review are of my own.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to check out Yumba's meal delivery subscription service. They are Toronto's new trending healthy eating experience offering carefully sourced natural meals curated by local chefs. This is especially helpful for those who have busy work schedules, and do not have the time to cook or go out. Yumba offers gourmet meals with great taste, and conveniently delivered to customers' doorsteps weekly in a chilled reusable thermal package. 

 The meals are diverse balanced dishes of well portioned proteins, carbohydrates and nutrients. 

As a young professional, I find meal prep to be quite a daunting task, especially when it's a long day's work. This is where Yumba comes in handy, as they offer a weekly meal service with high-quality meals made fresh to order. Each week, customers can choose flavor-packed dishes like summer confetti linguini, Chipotle pulled pork pasta, creamy dill salmon, and chicken tikka masala. The meals change weekly, so you'll get different dishes per week. 

The meals are super easy to make, as all you have to do is remove the sauce container before heating your meal in the microwave with the lid loosely fit for 2 minutes. Afterwards, pour the sauce on your food once it is finished heating.

Japanese Kabayaki Flank

Chicken & Shrimp Spinach Pesto Pasta

Burrito Bowl

 The three meals that I received from Yumba were healthy and I enjoyed its taste. My favorite out of the three was the chicken & shrimp spinach pesto pasta, which was light, and the chicken and shrimp were well-cooked. It's definitely a lot healthier than some of the food choices available out there and certainly lighter on the wallet. 4 meals per week is $49.99. which comes out to $12.99/meal. However, if you order 6 meals per week, it's $65.99 (so $10.99 per meal).

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Disclaimer: The food provided in this post was complimentary. However, all of the opinions expressed in this review are of my own.